TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $20.00. The stock had previously closed at $12.41, but opened at $13.60. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. TripAdvisor shares last traded at $13.4380, with a volume of 3,256,436 shares changing hands.

TRIP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America upgraded TripAdvisor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on TripAdvisor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a report on Friday, May 15th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TripAdvisor in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of TripAdvisor from $16.00 to $13.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at TripAdvisor

In related news, CEO Almir Ambeskovic sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $98,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,070.80. This trade represents a 18.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TripAdvisor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of TripAdvisor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,848,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in TripAdvisor by 24.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,416,019 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $120,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,607 shares during the period. Converium Capital Inc. acquired a new position in TripAdvisor during the first quarter valued at approximately $11,460,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of TripAdvisor by 1,712.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,107,995 shares of the travel company’s stock valued at $16,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,858 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of TripAdvisor by 78.5% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,210,903 shares of the travel company’s stock worth $35,949,000 after buying an additional 972,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

TripAdvisor Trading Up 0.1%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.99 and its 200-day moving average is $11.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.90.

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The travel company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $382.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.69 million. TripAdvisor had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 0.99%.The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that TripAdvisor, Inc. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) is a leading online travel company that operates a digital platform for travel information, reviews and booking services. The company’s flagship website and mobile apps allow users to access and contribute travel-related content—ranging from hotel and restaurant reviews to ratings for tours, attractions and vacation rentals—helping consumers plan and book trips around the world.

The core of TripAdvisor’s offering is its community-driven review system, which aggregates user-generated feedback alongside editorial content and professional photography.